


Sooner Rather Than Later

by sceawere



Category: Peaky Blinders (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Drama, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Romeo and Juliet Nonsense, Unplanned Pregnancy, Vendettas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-10
Updated: 2018-07-10
Packaged: 2019-06-08 10:15:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15241188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sceawere/pseuds/sceawere
Summary: Written as a request - being a Shelby and finding out you're pregnant with Luca's baby.“I knew I shouldn’t have sent you to Audrey fucking Changretta for reading lessons” Polly sighed, leaning back against the window.





	Sooner Rather Than Later

The slam of the door downstairs snapped you out of the foggy rest you’d found in the early light of the morning. Face shoved into a towel, you’d napped on the bathroom floor for only a short while after spilling your guts once more.

You pushed up onto your elbow, free hand wiping over your clammy face. Rapid steps made their way up to the landing, a light hum joining them as they approached the doorway. A soft chuckle, the light tap of a shoulder hitting the doorframe.

“Late night?” Ada laughed, and you groaned, making your way back down to lie on your makeshift pillow. She was chewing away at a slice of bread, the sweet smell of her perfume trailing in.

“Ada, please, get the fuck away from me” you mumbled, crawling up to rest against the tiles beside the loo once more. Just in case.

“Hmm, charming. What was it? Fresh batch of Tommy’s Gin to test?” she asked, stepping into the room to dampen a flannel for you. She knelt beside you, dabbing it against the back of your neck as you whimpered.

“Ada, I fucked up” you began to sob, and she snapped out of her teasing, shushing you softly.

“Hey, hey. I was only playing. It’s ok” she paused, rolling her thumb over your forehead, like she did when you were children and you’d get ill.

“Did something happen?” she asked after a moment, voice grave.

“No, not…I wasn’t drinking. I haven’t been drinking” you insisted, trying to explain without saying the words. You couldn’t say the words.

“Did you take something? If Finn’s been handing out snow again, I’m going to- “

“Ada” you cut her off, opening your aching eyes to meet eyes with her “I haven’t taken anything. I haven’t been drinking. I’ve **stopped** drinking.”

She paused, eyeing you until you saw it snap in her eyes.

“Oh, shit” she whispered, letting your face go so she could drop back onto the floor beside you.

“Oh…shit” you repeated, flopping your head to her shoulder.

-

Polly found you both still sat there when she arrived. Ada had nipped out to call her and returned straight to your side. She held your hand clasped in hers, laying on her lap as she shushed you softly.

“Who is it?”

“Polly” Ada tried to soften her, but you just sighed, and prepared for the ordeal you were about to endure. You and Ada weren’t even a full year apart. Practically twins, seen as such, and acting as if your whole lives. Polly had given you plenty of lectures about not following in her footsteps for once in the months after the Karl fiasco, but they’d trailed off until you’d gone and stepped right into it again.

“I know it’s one of the Italians already, so out with it” Polly insisted, pulling her coat around her thighs as she perched on the edge of the deep windowsill opposite you.

You frowned, tilting your head off Ada’s shoulder as you looked up at your aunt.

“I found a note, written in Italian, in your things” she explained, her face still set in a stony expression “You’re as shit at hiding things as you were when you were little”

“That’s an invasion of my privacy! I’m not a child anymore!” you argued, and she scoffed a half-laugh.

“Tough titties, sweetheart. Which incidentally is what you’re going to have soon”

“Oh, dear lord!” you whispered, head dropping back to snuggle into your sister’s shoulder. She chuckled softly.

“That’s right get to praying” Polly snarked, and you let out a whimper.

“I’m not enjoying this, I swear I’m not” Ada said, kissing your crown “But it is lovely to not be on the receiving end of this again, I have to say”

“You know, I knew something like this was going to happen” Polly sighed, lighting a cigarette, and pushing up to open the little window behind her “I told you a thousand times. After this one”

She pointed towards Ada, who let out a noise of offense. Polly simply raised a brow, blew out her smoke, and moved her eyes back to you.

“Who is it?” she insisted, and you sighed.

“Doesn’t matter. They’ll all be gone again soon. One way or another” the words made your stomach turn again, and you took a hitched breath. Ada grasped your hand tighter, and you looked across to her.

“But the baby won’t be” Polly continued, leading in her tone. You searched Ada’s eyes, her sad smile not comforting you at all.

“Do you think…” you trailed off, needing another moment to formulate the thought. You reached over and took a drink from the glass of tepid water perched on the sink above your head. It clinked when you set it down by your thigh, and you surged ahead with the thought that had come to you.

“Do you think if I told Tommy I’m pregnant by one of the Italians, he’d stop killing them? Or start killing them faster? I’m not really sure. But if it’s the former…I need to tell him now. Right now. I can stop this” you took a breath, before continuing in a less resolute way “Maybe. Or make it even worse”

You snapped out of the dreamy haze you’d slipped into, tracing your eyes over the tile patterns, when you realised neither of the other women had spoken. They were staring at each other, Polly’s lips pursed. She had the cigarette still pinched between two fingers, elbow resting on her crossed knees, but it was all but forgotten. The smoke escaped up in curls above her, catching the breeze and escaping in a flurry.

“Depends on who it is, I suppose” Ada said, rolling her lips between her teeth as she began to watch you in her periphery.

“Oh, not you as well!” you exclaimed as you realised their silent conversation had pulled her into it. You huffed, pushing up and away. The tap was creaky and took a few seconds to get going, your hands gripping the cool porcelain as it sputtered. When enough was glugging out, you splashed some up at your skin, wiping probing fingers over your face. Polly eyed you as you stepped over to her, pulling a towel from the ring beside her perch.

“You should tell him before you tell Tommy, at least” her tone was softer this time, and you sighed “unless…”

“Unless, what?” you snapped, flapping your hand about to clear the putrid smoke that was invading your air.

“I think she means it depends on the circumstances is all” Ada attempted to be diplomatic.

“I think it not only depends on who it was, but what his intentions were” Polly explained, and you rolled your eyes.

“His intentions were that I’m a lovely young woman, actually” you replied, offended at the thought that you’d been used in some grand revenge scheme.

“I’m fully aware that I raised you mostly right” Polly managed a true smile this time, and you and Ada gave half laughs, glad to have something to latch onto that wasn’t quite so serious. Polly erred, patting the butt against the glass and then reaching up to drop it out of the little window. She took your hand, patting it softly as she gathered the words.

“But we all know that sometimes men aren’t- “

“He wanted _me_ , Polly. It was nothing to do with anything that’s happening. If it was, he’d have to have been pulling a very long con, trust me. Not all of us are blessed with foresight in quite the way you are” you joked back, and she smirked, but her eyes creased slightly as she caught onto something you said.

“Now how would he have been playing a long con when they’ve only been here a few months?” she asked, more rhetorically as she knew you wouldn’t answer, and she knew you didn’t need to.

You sighed, keeping eyes with her.

“I knew him…before. When we were practically kids still. We never really, you know it was stupid teenage shit. It was a crush but…” you ran your tongue around your mouth, grimacing at the odd aftertaste that never seemed to quite clear “he left then too. I wasn’t pregnant then, but…he left then too”

You dipped your head.

“Jesus Christ” Polly whispered. She reached into her pocket, lit another cigarette, and then delved into another to fish out a piece of paper. You rolled your eyes and looked away when you noticed the swooping lines. She traced her thumb over the words at the top of the page, where he’d written your old nickname in giant cursive. It was the note he’d sent you after you’d seen him that day, sauntering out of Tommy’s office, the day of the strike. Your old nickname stretched over the top of the page. To let you know he hadn’t forgotten.

“I knew I shouldn’t have sent you to Audrey fucking Changretta for reading lessons” Polly sighed, leaning back against the window.

Ada called your name, shock clear in her tone.

“How did I not know this?” she continued, and you turned to leave the room.

“I need to go back to bed, I’m knackered” you mumbled, wiping at your eyes.

“This needs dealing with!” Polly shouted after you “sooner rather than later”

-

You let yourself into Luca’s hotel room when he didn’t answer your knocking, slipping the key he’d given you into your coat pocket and draping it over the chair. You collapsed onto the bed, staring up at the painted ceiling.

Polly and Ada had surprisingly let you sleep in for most of the morning, and let you leave without much hassle in the afternoon. They’d made you sit and eat a real meal first, and Polly had been a nightmare checking you over, but they’d let you leave. Knowing where you were going probably. What you were doing. No need to sneak around anymore.

Luca not being here troubled your slightly. They’d been using this place as a base of operations, and not doing much else outside the vendetta, so if he was out it meant they were _doing something._ Hopefully nothing fatal, to either side, given the new stakes. The old stakes, too. The whole situation had been hard to fathom.

The last time you and Luca has been around each other you were still a teenager with a bullshit crush. He’d kissed you once, right when he knew he was leaving, and it was your last chance. And then he’d walked back into your life. And you weren’t a shy teenager anymore. You weren’t the little girl who had always done what she was told, believed whatever Tommy told her she should anymore. You’d let yourself have something you wanted for once. Said to hell with it with all the warnings, all the forbidding, and the control.

Maybe you shouldn’t have.

You shot up when the door rattled some time later, not having realised you’d drifted off again. Not knowing how you were sleeping this much. You knew why. And now Luca had to know.

He clocked you in his periphery, hand flicking as if to slip under his jacket for just a second before he realised who it was. The grin that spread over his face when he saw you split your heart open, the soft croon as he leant over you and stole a kiss.

“You are a welcome surprise after a long, long day, Tesoro mio” he said, flopping down onto the bed beside you.

You yanked your hand out from under him, smiling at his chuckle. You crawled up to sit beside him, looking down at him.

“You look tired, doll” he scowled, running a hand down the side of your face, rubbing his thumb softly at the curve of your jaw.

“Grazie, hon” you played up your accent, cupping his hand to you lips, and joined his chuckle this time. He tipped his head, motioning for you to lie down with him but you shook your head, let your joined hands fall to his chest.

“I need to tell you something. Something important. I want you to be honest. I want…” you swallowed and took a clearing breath. He pushed up onto his elbows, fingers lacing with yours properly. His brow furrowed as he pressed his forehead to yours.

“I know this is hard for you. I know this isn’t the ideal for us” he murmured, and you winced, knowing he’d misunderstood.

“Luca, I’m pregnant”

If you didn’t say it now, you didn’t know if you ever would. If he started off on something else you might lose your nerve, you might get twisted up in it and drown under the words.

He didn’t move. Didn’t say anything. You couldn’t open your eyes, you were too scared.

“Do you remember…” you released the breath you’d locked up when he spoke again. He rolled his forehead against yours, thumb tracing along your jaw once more.

“There was that…ugly princess figurine at my mother’s house? The one that sat on the mantel” he asked, half a laugh on his breath.

“I remember” you mumbled.

“You used to look at it every time you came around. Used to say how pretty it was”

“I remember”

“I was helping my mother clean out the house today. She can’t stand to be there without my father, or Angel, so…”

You swallowed thickly, wondering if this was all a way to get back to that point. To the point where your family had wiped out his. Whether he was about to snap after all and say something horrible. Whether Polly was right, and this had all been some sick game, that you’d let old memories cloud your judgement. Maybe you were still that silly little girl who should do as she was told.

“I always thought it was ugly, but you liked it. I saw you looking at it. Tried to steal it for you once, when we were kids still, but my mother caught me” he laughed again, breathless. You felt his brow furrow once more, flush against yours.

“She let me have it this time. I had it put in a box. Matteo’s been tasked with sneaking it into your office before morning” he chuckled, and you had to let out a laugh at that, gasping it out as you started to cry. He shushed you, lifting his jaw to press his lips to your temple.

“You’re pregnant?” he asked, a tone of wonder in his voice “You’re sure?”

“I need to go to the doctor, but if I’m not, I’m probably just dying” you explained, leaning back when he did to meet your eyes. He took a deep breath, let out a gust of breath, and blinked away as he stood from the bed and began to pace a few steps. He was grinning when he turned back, and you didn’t know what to do.

“My mother will be so happy, she might not even kill me” he joked, and you smiled, still not sure whether this was sorted or not.

“And you? Are you happy? This is not the ideal for us” you repeated his words back to him, following him with your eyes as he came to crouch before you beside the bed. He bunched your hands into his, burying his face into them for a few moments, before kissing your knuckles.

“I spent the day…clearing away ghosts, and reliving memories that only reminded me how much I’ve lost” You freed one hand from his grasp to trace over his scalp, and he looked up to “I come home to the woman I’ve wanted ever since she tripped over our doorway in a dotty dress when she was six years old, telling me my child is in her belly. I’m happy, Tesoro”

You scoffed a laugh, looking away in slight embarrassment at his recall.

“I wouldn’t really call this place home” your eyes traced over the hotel room.

“Eh, homes where we make it, hmm?” he asked, kneeling up to place a kiss at your throat. You turned into him, breathing him in.

“I was so scared this was going to ruin everything” you admitted, and he pulled back.

“Have you told Polly yet?” he asked, and you tilted your head, straightening your expression. He blinked softly, rocking his head side to side “Of course you have. Well. If the sky hasn’t fallen yet, I might see the day out yet”

“Don’t joke about that. Not ever again. You can’t” you insisted, and he sighed “You’re going to have to make peace, Luca, you have to!”

You reached for his hand, trapping it between both of yours and the flat of your stomach.

“Don’t make them lose their father too” you begged “Don’t make me have to join your mother in my widow’s black. I couldn’t stand it”

“I’d have to marry you first” he smirked, and you flared your eyes at his insistence on not being serious.

“We’re not getting married just because you went and knocked me up”

“How about because you love me?” he asked, trying to tease a kiss out of you again while you stared him down.

“I have moderate affection for you” you joked, keeping your tone steely as he chuckled, dipping his head but keeping eyes with you.

“Don’t listen to your mother”

You smiled as he addressed the child that showed no sign of existing within you. He sat back on his heels, and you rubbed your hand over the back of his where it still sat vigil at your belly.

“If it’s a son…would it upset you to name him after your father? I mean it’s a tribute but it’s a reminder and…” you trailed off, shrugging slightly. He stared at where your hands lay tangled together over your child.

“It wouldn’t upset me” he finally said, and you smiled softly. He sighed after a long round of silence, reaching up to swipe a hand over his face.

“We need to get you to a doctor soon. I need to…talk to Tommy and Polly, and…” he rocked his head, rolling his tongue as though there was a match there, muscle memory playing out as he started working through things in his mind.

“Not tonight though” you insisted, releasing his hands just enough to turn and crawl back a little onto the bed. He followed as you tugged gently, mind still clearly on his list of impending tasks.

“I need to get this sorted. Sooner, rather than later” he repeated words you’d already heard today as he lay down beside you.

“Not tonight, my love. Business is business, but it’s family at home. And this is home” you replied, and he moved his hand back to where it had just lay.

“Thank you for the figurine” you said after a few moments, and he started to laugh “She’s not ugly though, Luca. She’s pretty”

“She’s floofy” he argued, and you scowled.

“Pretty” you insisted.


End file.
